DINOSAURS IN LUBIN

   During the long Mai weekend we visited my mother who lives in Lubin. We had dinner together and then we went to Park Wroclawski. The park was founded in the 19th century by adapting a part of the forest by the river Zimnica. In the 70's of the 20th century the park area has been enlarged to 14.47 ha. The park is located close to the kindergarten that I attended to when I was a child. I spent there many hours running and playing with other children. That time the park was a wild place with hardly any paths.

   Currently the park does not remind the place I remember from my childhood. In 2014 the park has undergone an extensive revitalization. Many educational paths have been created. In the south part of the park you can see various species of birds that live in aviaries including pheasants, owls, storks or eagles. In the east part a dinopark is located. You can meet there the most popular dinosaurs like diplodok, brachiosaurus, triceratops or the most scary tyrannosaur. My children had fun looking for dinosaurs hided among the tress. In the north part you can visit Mini Zoo with farm animals like chickens, rabbits, pigs or goats. At the end of our trip we went to the playground that has many attractions for children. I wanted to see the over a century old trees but I gave up that idea as it was impossible to get my children out of the playground.

   We spent really nice day in the park and what's even better after the whole day our children were completely exhausted and fell asleep as soon as we got into the car.

   The park has its own page on the parki-lubina.pl website, where you can find a map with detailed information on birds, trees and dinosaurs. I'm really glad that the park has it's "golden days" now and I hope it will preserve its good condition for many years.

Pheasant

White eagle

CZANTORIA

   I remember the times when I was able to pack my things into one backpack, get on a train and embark on a journey to the mountains. I slept in mountain shelters, ate local specialties and had the best moments of my life. Currently my children are still too little to take them on a mountain trip so I thought that it would be nice if a mountain could come to us. I invited the Little Czantoria when I heard that she is on her way back from visiting Śnieżka. We spent a great evening together. If you also would like to get to know the Little Czantoria I encourage you to read the book "O górze, która wybrała się w świat. Przygody Małej Czantorii" (Eng. About the mountain that went into the world. Adventures of the Little Czantoria) written by Weronika Górska.

   The Little Czantora lived for many ages in the shadow of her bigger sister, the Big Czantoria. She felt lonely and unappreciated. She couldn't stand being ignored by tourists and nearby residents any longer. One day, or rather night, she stood up on her feet and set out into the world. She met Łysa Góra, Tatry, Śnieżka, Olimp, Vesuvius and, of course, the Alps, the highest and most extensive mountain range that lies in Europe. Each of the mountains presented a different type of personality. Łysa Góra was too proud to admit that no witches these days arrange Sabbaths on her peak. Vesuvius and the Alps exalted themselves in front of their little cousin. Olimp, even though he was focused on how wonderful he was, made the Little Czantoria foll in love with him. The Little Czantoria found a true friend, Śnieżka, who also shared her passion about travels.

   The journey the Little Czantoria had, will not only teach you a lot about the mountains in Poland and Europe, but also about feelings and emotions, both positive and negative. The book is also a kind of satire on tourism and climbing. I truly believe that it's great for both small and adult readers alike!

O górze, która wybrała się w świat. Przygody Małej Czantorii by Weronika Górska

SECOND-HAND GOODS

   One of the reasons to buy preowned things is to save money as they are usually cheaper than new things. You can also decrease the amount of litter by giving a second life to things that have already been produced. When I was a child I wore clothes that I received from my older cousins and had school books that my mum received from her friend who had older children. For sure my parents saved money by equipping me and my sister with second-hand things but that time I wasn't as optimistic as my parents were. The clothes were not my style and often not my size and the books were dirty, crumpled and drawn on  with a ball point and crayons.

   To avoid the disadvantages of used things I follow three main rules:

1) I buy only things that are good shape, size and quality.

2) I buy things that I would buy new with normal price.

3) The price of the second-hand object is much lower than the new one.

I mostly buy used clothes for my children. I choose clothes that are in good condition and I know my children will like them. I avoid buying dirty clothes unless I’m 100% sure I will clean them easily. To plain t-shirts I add buttons, ribbons or lace (also from a second-hand store) to make them nicer for my daughter.

   I also have a few clothes in my wardrobe that I bought in a second-hand store. A salmon pink midi skirt from H&M that was new, with a paper tag attached and cost a tenth of the original price. I also have a floral dress from Oasis that had a stain on the front but I removed it easily and now I can wear it to work. I also bought winter trousers that are perfect for winter trips.

   As well as clothes I buy toys for my children. Recently my daughter asked me to buy her a toy monkey. It wasn't easy but I found two little monkeys in the second hand store that were available in 2017 in McDonald as an addition to a Happy Meal. You can still get those monkeys on eBay but they cost 6$ and I got mine for 2 zloty ;)

   I also buy used books that are old editions or no longer available in book stores. The things that I definitely won’t buy include underwear, shoes and bedclothes.

DOLLHOUSE

   When I was a little girl, I dreamt about having a dollhouse. I saw a dollhouse for the first time in  an American family movie in early 90's and I fell in love with it. In Poland dollhouses were not popular (none of my friends had one). As it was almost impossible for me to get a real dollhouse I made my own from a shoe box and furniture out of match boxes. The carpet and the curtains I cut out of colored materials. I had a little baby doll that lived in the house. My dollhouse was not half as beautiful as the American version but I was proud of it and spent many hours playing with it.

   When you become a parent you have the power to decide what toys your children will play with. More or less consciously you select the toys that you dreamt about when you were a child. It is then not surprising that I bought a dollhouse when I found out that I will deliver a girl :D I chose the Sylvanian Families City House with Lights. The Sylvanian Families toys are very good quality and made with attention to detail. As there is not much space in my current apartment, the City House waits in the attic of my parents-in-law for it's big day to come out. In order to mitigate the waiting time I bought another smaller dollhouse that I gave my daughter on her fourth birthday. This time I chose the Sylvanian Families Cottage House. The house was partially furnished and one rabbit figure was included. I bought the whole rabbit family separately, who now lives in the house. The additional furniture I ordered in aliexpress.com as the original sets are quite expensive. The substitute furniture is good quality and fits to the dollhouse perfectly. My favorite element is the sewing machine, it's made of metal and some parts of it are movable.

   My children like playing with the Cottage House. They remove everything from inside and refurnish it. After they finish I 'clean the house' and have a great time ;) To make the house more cozy we made several decorations. I am most proud of the cotton balls we made of little pompoms hung on a thread, a bouquet of flowers we made of beads and carpets cut from an old curtain.

   I made my childhood dream come true with the Sylvanian Families dollhouse but the most important thing is that I shared my passion with my children and now we can all enjoy it.

Sylvanian Families City House with Lights

Sylvanian Cottage House (Interior)

Sylvanian Cottage House (Front)

Children's room

Living room